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Law and Disorder is a weekly independent civil liberties radio program airing on more than 150 stations and on Apple podcast. Law and Disorder provides timely legal perspectives on issues concerning civil liberties, privacy, right to dissent and practices of torture exercised by the US government and private corporations.

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Law and Disorder October 7, 2019

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Kings Bay Plowshares 7 Case Update October 2019

In our society, nuclear weapons that can destroy all creation are taken as a normal, even an inevitable part of life. In a dramatic action to break what they call “the crime of silence” seven Catholic peace activists entered the Kings Bay trident submarine base in Georgia last April to perform an act of symbolic disarmament. They used hammers to follow the prophecy of Isaiah “to beat swords into plowshares” and poured blood to make holy what was evil in a sacramental action. Kings Bay is homeport to six ballistic missile trident submarines, each of which deploy 16 trident missiles carrying four or more warheads of at least 100 kilotons. The Hiroshima bomb was 14 kilotons. Each submarine thus has the destructive power of at least 500 Hiroshima bombs. The plowshares seven face up to 25 years in federal prison. Their trial is coming up. Theirs was the latest of 100 plowshares actions around the world since 1980.

Guest – Martha Hennessey, Kings Bay Plowshares 7 co-defendant, activist and volunteer with the New York Catholic Worker.

Guest – Patrick O’Neill, Kings Bay Plowshares 7 co-defendant, activist and volunteer with the New York Catholic Worker.

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Flint Water Crisis Case and Michigan Private Prisons Update

The notorious Flint, Michigan poison drinking water case has been in litigation for more than three years. Detroit constitutional attorney Bill Goodman joins us to give an update on the case.

Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, high-ranking former members of his staff and other state employees are the target of a federal civil rights lawsuit over the city of Flint’s water crisis. The lawsuit, which also targets the city, alleges that the officials tried to balance the City’s budget through a pattern of devious and race-based activity that targeted the people of Flint. It claims that these public official lied to the people of Flint by continuing to mail water bills to Flint residents, which they allege fraudulently misrepresents that the city is providing safe, clean water to its residents.

A group of Flint residents filed the lawsuit on behalf of all the citizens of Flint seeking financial compensation for injuring virtually every adult and child in that beleaguered city – for lead poisoning and brain damage to the kids, for severe skin ailments and hair loss for everyone, for death from Legionnaires disease, and countless other injuries; in addition, there had been tremendous psychological injury to the entire population. Beyond that, people in this community have sustained massive property damage, loss of business, and financial losses. In addition to compensation, they demand life-time future medical care.

This case asserts that this disaster was caused when a multitude of public officials decided to change the source of water from clean safe water, to dangerous, untreated water, knowing – at all times of the danger – and yet lying to the public and claiming that they water was safe when they knew that it was dangerous and poisoned.

We will also speak with him about his lawsuit against a private prison corporation for negligence in allowing a gang execution in one of the private prisons it owns. Attorney Goodman is counsel to the inmates at the Wayne County, Michigan jail in the oldest jail conditions case in the United States going back to 1971. Detroit is in Wayne County.

Guest -Attorney Bill Goodman is the former Legal Director at the Center for Constitutional Rights and a past president of the National Lawyers Guild. He is the attorney for a number of victims of water poisoning in Flint, Michigan.

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Law and Disorder September 30, 2019

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Power of Attorney: Can Progressive Prosecutors Achieve Meaningful Criminal Justice Reform?

Can progressive prosecutors achieve meaningful criminal justice reform? Returning guest reporter Andrew Cockburn addresses this question in his recent article in Harper’s magazine titled Power of Attorney.

Attorney Dave Clegg, running for the office of prosecutor in Ulster County, has written that prosecutors are the most powerful elected officials people probably know the least about. They are the gatekeepers to the criminal justice system. People don’t realize how the DAs decisions impact people facing the criminal justice system and the long-term consequences suffered by their families and communities.

A DA serves with broad discretion and little oversight. For decades harsh decisions by “tough on crime“ DAs have made the USA the world leader in over-incarceration. Most District Attorney races go unchallenged and DAs can remain entrenched in power for decades. DAs have been active roadblocks to justice reform efforts, transparency, and change.

Hopeful prosecutors with good ideas have been running in cities across the country. What reforms are they advocating? What kind of resistance are they coming up against? The Daily Appeal

Guest – Andrew Cockburn, the Washington editor of Harper’s magazine discusses the appearance of progressives running for prosecutors in cities as diverse as San Francisco California, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Baltimore Maryland, Queens New York, and Ulster county New York.

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The CIA as Organized Crime: How Illegal Operations Corrupt America and the World

In 1947 Congress passed the National Security Act which led to formation of the National Security Council and, under its direction, the CIA. Its original mandate was to collect and analyze strategic information for use in war. Though shrouded in secrecy, some CIA activities—such as covert military and cybersecurity operations—have drawn public scrutiny and criticism.

In 1948 the Security Council approved a secret directive, NSC 10/2, authorizing the CIA to carry out an array of covert operations. This essentially allowed the CIA to become a paramilitary organization. Before he died, George F. Kennan, the diplomat and Cold War strategist who sponsored the directive said that “in light of latter history, it was the greatest mistake I ever made.”

Since NSC 10/2 authorized violation of international law it also established an official policy of lying so as to cover up the lawbreaking.

Guest – Douglas Valentine, author of The CIA as Organized Crime: How Illegal Operations Corrupt America and the World. Mr. Valentine’s rare access to CIA officials has resulted in portions of his research materials being archived at the National Security Archive, Texas Tech University’s Vietnam Center and John Jay College. He has written three books on CIA operations, including The Phoenix Program which documented the CIA’s elaborate system of population surveillance, control, entrapment, imprisonment, torture and assassination in Vietnam. His new book describes how many of these practices remain operational today.

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Law and Disorder September 23, 2019

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When at Times the Mob Is Swayed, A Citizen’s Guide to Defending Our Republic

Trump was elected by about 25% of the eligible voters. Half of the voters who could have, didn’t vote. He lost the popular election by 3 million votes. Since then, this appalling man has proceeded to aggrandize his power. Backed by large corporations to whom he gave huge tax breaks and for whom he cut regulations, the military to which he just gave a $750 billion budget, a Republican Supreme Court and the right wing media such as Sinclair Broadcasting and Fox News he has maintained a steady base of support in the population.

Increasing a sense of dread has spread across our country, it appears possible that Trump may get reelected. Democracy and the rule of law are increasingly threatened.

Guest – Constitutional Lawyer, Burt Neuborne is the former legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union and has argued many cases before the US Supreme Court. Attorney Neuborne’s book “When at Times the Mob is Swayed” has been recently published by the New Press. He is currently the Norman Dorsen Professor of Civil Liberties at NYU School of Law.

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Prominent Environmental Activist Maggy Hurchalla Loses Appeal Of 4.4 Million Dollar Jury Verdict

Issues of the environment, citizen advocacy, and the public’s right to know are converging in two South Florida court cases. One involves 78-year-old Maggy Hurchalla, a former Everglades Coalition’s Conservationist of the Year and winner of a National Wetlands Award from the Environmental Law Institute. Now she owes a developer $4.4 million for speaking out about a critical local environmental issue.

In 2012 Hurchalla learned that Lake Point Restoration was considering conveying water to West Palm Beach for a fee. She complained about the company’s operation in emails to Martin Country commissioners and after Lake Point lost out on some contracts. Lake Point claims Maggy lied and was intent on hurting the company.

In a second related case, the nonprofit Everglades Law Center requested a transcript of a closed door meeting of South Florida Water Management’s governing board. The response? They were hauled into court, with Maggie Hurchalla added to the lawsuit.

Guest – Professor Richard Grosso, director of environmental and land use practice at NOVA Southeastern University. Professor Grosso is a widely recognized legal expert, practicing attorney and policy advocate, with over 30 years of experience litigating and advocating on statewide and south Florida environmental issues.

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